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School friends of Australian teacher Gabrielle Maina, who has been killed in Nairobi, say she “was very intelligent, musically talented and always smiling”.
The 40-year-old was shot and killed in a daylight street robbery while walking home in the Kenyan capital at about 10am on Thursday, local time.
Fairfax Media understands Ms Maina graduated from Armidale High School in 1995 before commencing studies at the University of New England.
EARLIER:
Fairfax Media can confirm Australian teacher Gabrielle Maina, who has been shot dead in Nairobi, was a graduate from the University of New England in Armidale.
The 40-year-old was shot and killed in a daylight street robbery while walking home in the Kenyan capital at about 10am on Thursday, local time.
Ms Maina studied a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma of Education at UNE which she completed in 2006.
Insight Secure, a security company that monitors local incidents, reported that a “caucasian woman” was killed by “unidentified assailants” and that “a 9mm cartridge was recovered at the crime scene”.
Fairfax Media understands Ms Maina’s purse was snatched by the rider or riders of a “boda boda” motorcycle.
Ms Maina was working as the headteacher at Nairobi's Hillcrest Preparatory School, according to the school's website.
A statement from Hillcrest said: "It is with great sadness and shock that we are writing to let you know that Gabrielle Maina, Head Teacher of Hillcrest Prep has been tragically killed whilst out walking this morning.
"She was returning home after dropping her son at a friend's house.
"Condolences to Gabrielle's family."
The teacher's biography on the school's website says Maina "relocated to Kenya in September 2015, a long term goal to establish her family here so her children can grow up with their extended family."
"After completing her postgraduate degree in Education, she was engaged by the New South Wales Department of Education, where she taught at a number of schools in the Sydney metropolitan area."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said the department was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian woman who died in Kenya.
"Due to our privacy obligations, we will not release further details," the spokesperson said.